Post-stimulation excitability of mediodorsal thalamic self-stimulation

The post-stimulation excitability of the substrate for brain stimulation reward in the mediodorsal thalamus was assessed using equal- and unequal-pulse procedures. In 3 rats, refractory periods were found to begin no earlier than 1 ms and to end as late as 10 ms. Using test (T) pulses 1.5 times the amplitude of condition (C) pulses, the contribution of absolute and relative refractory periods was determined in one subject. No change in the slope of the recovery function was obtained in this condition, suggesting that several populations of neurons with different absolute refractory periods compose the behaviorally relevant substrate. A large supernormal contribution, evaluated by increasing the C amplitude to 1.5T, occurred between 3 and 10 ms with a peak at 7.5 ms. These results suggest that mediodorsal thalamic self-stimulation is mediated by a wide range of small, probably unmyelinated fibers.